It's so far from the tracks you'd never spot
Wait, the marker we saw back at milepost 81 --> shows 81 + 9, which is only
90 miles total. Milepost 90 is approximately where the B&O's Belt Line and
CSX's Baltimore Terminal Subdivision begin. That is not a sensible
reference point since the transition from one branch to another is
of no consequence to passengers.

Grade separation during the years before automobiles meant enough
width for horse-drawn carriages to pass, but that's not quite
enough room for two at-speed autos to do so safely. Several such
underpasses survive on the line in their original form.

Near the Joppa Road grade crossing old track ties are staged for
pickup and landfilling. Due to their prior chemical treatment,
old ties are not burned or chipped. About 700 million wooden
ties support the rails of US railroads. Each lasts approximately
40 years, which means about 16 million are replaced every year.

Signals flash at the grade crossing. Note how the fixtures are
offset and contain holes for light to escape from the sides so
pedestrians can also be alerted. In the distance a B&O CPL
is signalling approach.

A doll post is the upright arm on a signal pole between the main
signal head and a dwarf CPL. It notifies train operators that
each signal controls a different track. Masts with doll posts
were made taller than others for better visibility from either
track.

Here at East Van Bibber the B&O had considered a building a line called
the Patapsco and Susquehanna Branch which would have connected to the
Old Main Line east of Sykesville near Gorsuch, thus bypassing busy
Baltimore and its Howard Street Tunnel bottleneck. The project did
not get past the planning stage.